Of Rejection and Realization
by iAir Nomad
Summary: Valentine's Day was never the greatest for little Yugi. Every year, he was rejected by Anzu. This year was the worst of them all, and he comes home in tears, feeling that he'll be alone again this year. But there's one person he's forgetting. Y/YY :


**Yeah, still a month before Valentine's Day. But I wanted to get this in before I would forget :U Enjoy. I do not own Yugioh.**

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><p>Rejection. On Valentine's Day. It doesn't feel good; I would know. I intuitively raised my lips into the fakest smile I knew anyone could see clear through, but that didn't stop the tears from welling up in the corner of my eyes as I told her that it was okay and I didn't mind, when unbeknownst to her, my heart inside was being ripped up into a million pieces and scattering like paper. That was the day I finally gave up, after all my attempts to make her mine, after the feelings I held for her deep inside only continuing to increase over the years – only to have all that hope smacked in my face and deflating me. I had to come back to reality – must have been the Universe's way of telling me that my charm hasn't worked on her, it won't work, and it was never <em>meant <em>to work. So who…?

I sighed dejectedly as I hung my head and began my journey back home to the Kame Game Shop from school. Every corner I turned, much to my dismay and frustration, was occupied by happy couples: kissing, murmuring sweet nothings in each other's ears, smiling and laughing. It pained and sickened me, knowing I couldn't have that. I quickened my pace and kept my eyes sharply focused solely on the cement sidewalk, feeling so out of place. _Valentine's Day sucks… _I heard myself grumble in my thoughts.

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><p>The chime of bells on the door signaled my safe return home.<p>

"I'm home," I said to the elder figure standing at the glass counter of the shop, who at the time was placing newly shipped packs of Duel Monster cards into the counter.

"Ah, Yugi! How was your day?" He smiled. I had to fight off the tears coming up again. Yugi! Get a hold of yourself! Answer 'fine', and walk away quickly before he mentions—

"Pick up any girls to share this Valentine's Day with? _Anzu, _perhaps?" He wiggled his grey eyebrows and grinned cheekily at me. Just this morning, I would have blushed and my heart would fly at the mention of the name of the person I adored. Now, it sounded like broken glass in my ears. It was, in actuality, the sound of my own heart breaking, that no one else could hear. That name was full of disappointing hopes. I couldn't explain why all this was suddenly hitting me now, after all the times I've been rejected before.

I turned away for a moment to gather my self control before turning back to my grandfather; trying to pull off a more convincing smile than earlier.

"It was good, Jii-chan," I reply in an attempt to be cheery and mask the side of me that wanted to just sit and cry in a dark corner. "If you'll excuse me… where's Yami?" I find myself asking, softening a little inside at the mention of my dearest friend aside from Jonouchi.

"He should be upstairs. Last I saw, he was in your room and sorting his card deck. So, kiddo, you got homework?"

I looked frantically upstairs, wanting to leave as soon as possible and close myself off in my room. Don't get me wrong, I love my grandfather, but I couldn't keep my composure much longer… "Yeah, a little. I was just going to go do it now." I saw grandpa wave dismissingly, not seeming to notice my broken state or even a look of care, turning his attention back to the work of which he proceeded to finish. I took this as my cue. My feet pounded up the stairs, and as I did so, I felt suddenly angry and hurt. More so than ever before in the last few hours. I had no shame in openly expressing it as I stomped down the hall and threw open my bedroom door open to see Yami jump a little where he sat with his deck as grandpa said. He stared at me, but I didn't care as I grit my teeth behind pursed lips and threw my schoolbag in midair. It flew across the room in a wild motion and crashed to the floor beside my bed, causing Yami to wince at the loud noise of it's impact.

"Aibou…? Are you… alright?" He asked slowly, placing his cards down for the time being and granting me full attention of which I had been lacking all day. I appreciated it and his concern, but I ended up feeling like I didn't want it.

"Just fine," I mumbled in reply before taking quick strides to the bed and flopping ungracefully upon it. I pulled up the covers over myself and snuggled in as though preparing to take a nap. But sleeping was the furthest thing on my mind. I sighed inwardly, curling up into a fetal position, my back turned to Yami. I could still feel his uncertain and worried, fixed gaze on me. But I continued to stare at the wall miserably.

"Aibou," he said softly. "Please. You're not telling me the truth. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" I snapped, and instantly regretted it. Even with my back turned, I could sense Yami wore a hurt expression at the outburst. I sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry," I said, turning and sitting up to a seated position and gazing sadly at the creases and folds in the blankets. "Just… alone again. Naturally." I whispered.

"What do you mean?" When I flicked a hurt glance at Yami, he immediately caught on. I was raving all about my plan to win Anzu's heart to him this morning. He must have remembered this. "Oh. Anzu didn't…?"

"No. She didn't. She never will. I've finally come to terms with that. She will never want me. And I can understand why," I turned away, my eyes shutting tight as I felt an unwelcome lump in my throat and a stream of words spewing out from my lips that I didn't consciously think about. "I'm small, naïve, pathetic and weak… I'm just… so weak… I'm nothing like _you_, Yami, and that's what she sees in the perfect guy, is you. You're the complete opposite of me, and that's why you're perfect. You're taller, stronger, confident, mature and way more handsome. I'll never be able to compare."

"Aibou…" Yami whispered mournfully as he watched me from his place on the carpeted floor. I couldn't let myself continue saying all these nasty, false things about me as a person; I was letting myself sink lower and lower into a place of despair I didn't want to go to, and this seemed to be hurting Yami, too. Yet I couldn't seem to stop rambling…

"It's Valentine's Day, for God's sakes!" I yelled, tears finally streaming as I gripped my hair and sucked in a shaky breath. "I've been rejected by her every year, and this year is the only year that it's finally hit me, and it hurts, Yami!" I cried tearfully. "It hurts…" Sniffles escaped as my voice had lowered drastically, burying my tear-stained face in my knees as I pulled them to my chest and hugged myself. I heard Yami shift position, and for a moment, I was confused. Until, that is, I felt an additional weight on my bed and said Yami sitting beside me with his lean arms outstretched.

"Aibou, come here," he murmured in a way that set off butterflies in my stomach. I looked up with puffy eyes at the warm and loving crimsons of my companion. With slightly blurred and hot vision, I obediently unwrapped myself from the blankets and moved to crawl on his lap. His arms held me tight, and I felt one hand caress and finger the back of my spiked hair, soothingly. I was no longer crying hysterically as moments before, but the tears continued to stream silently, and there seemed to be no end. I hiccupped against Yami black shirt-covered shoulder.

"It's… j-just not fair," I sobbed softly, to which he responded by burying his face against my neck and holding me tighter, squeezing the air out of me. I felt heat rise to my cheeks. We haven't necessarily been _this_ close before… but it felt _so _dang good… I wonder…

I suddenly flushed red at my own thoughts. No. That was wrong… wasn't it? But this embrace alone felt like the most _right_ thing in the entire world…

"I know," he whispered close to my ear in response to my sob-filled statement. "I know it's not fair. But there is someone for you, my aibou, someone… who may just in fact already love you," Yami continued, sucking in a deep breath as well as me while he carried on caressing me; from my hair, to my neck, and up and down my back or sometimes in circular motions. I clung to the back of his night-colored shirt, burying myself in him, losing myself in the comfort he exuded. It should have been impossible for him to exude so much warmth and care… this was _Yami_. The darker one. The more sinister and intimidating one. So why…?

Yet… I _never_ wanted to leave that embrace. Even if the world were to corrupt in flames or some kind of disaster happened this very moment, I wanted nothing else but to be wrapped up in these very arms. I knew at that moment, then. On the surface, my huge crush on Anzu clouded my vision from seeing the love that was offered all this time without me having to really try and strive for it. It was there all along. Yami must have sensed that I picked up on this realization as well, because he parted for a moment to gaze tiredly and lovingly at me before tilting his head and leaning in. I gasped softly as I felt his lips, _so _warm and soft to the touch, engulf me into a world in which it was just us, and everything else was mentally dismissed. I felt tears trickle down again, and I assumed they were mine out of a variety of mixed emotions—most of them being utter, sheer, genuine happiness.

With quiet whimpers, I allowed Yami to coax my mouth open as our jaws fell down wider to deepen the kiss. Slow. Passionate. Beautiful. We were so close, yet, I felt, still not close enough. The tangled embrace we were already in tangled even more as our kiss became an all-out battle of dominance mixed in with the sweetest love a human was capable of expressing. My God. Why didn't I see what was so obvious before? Yami was… the epitome, the _definition_ of love. My Yami…

When we finally pulled away, I was crying and sobbing hysterically again as we held each other's faces. He reached up a hand and rubbed his thumb against my cheek in an attempt to wipe away the tears while staring calmly and ever-so-patiently at me, at a distance of just a few inches. His eyes drifted shut as he leaned in once more to nuzzle his forehead against mine, so affectionately, trying to shoosh me in the process.

"I'm so sorry, Yami…" I whispered tearfully. His eyes opened quickly with confusion. The hiccups made an appearance again as I hugged him, not as fierce as before; gently. "I didn't notice you sooner… I'm so sorry…" I repeated.

"Aibou. Stop crying," he commanded in a husky tone. He lifted my head off his shoulder by my cheeks and I blinked at him. He smiled, cocking his head slightly. "Stop crying. It's all right now."

I sniffled with a small nod of my head in agreement to this blissful concluding statement, undeniably true. Everything _was _going to be okay. I didn't have to suffer from isolation this year, or the year afterwards, or the year after that…

Trying to cease my crying, I reached up a fist and brushed my eyes to have them rid of for good today. With that done, we pulled each other into another gentle and breathtaking hug, and I felt Yami's lips graze my forehead as we were both tugged to lie on the bed.

So while all those couples are out buying chocolates and flowers and senseless gifts and expensive dinners for one another like a typical Valentine's Day, I spend mine wrapped in a once ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's love. And I came to realize that rejection at first, although hard in the beginning, granted me the kind of eternal affection and companionship that Anzu could never hope to provide, anyway.

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><p><strong>Reviews give me warm-fuzzies :3<strong>


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